I should add that my response was not intended to implicitly
denigrate Surrette. They are good batteries in general. While I have
experienced some failures, they have come through with good support
when needed. And they also have Steve Higgins as their technical
representative, which is a Major Plus. I have installed and replaced a fair number of L16s over the years, and still do, as they fill a common niche. I use them but dislike them, and this is about their fundamental topology, not specific to any brand. In most cases in homeowners' systems I find that they last about as long as golf carts, seldom longer under similar conditions. Really. They're less forgiving of abuse than golf carts and more expensive per amp-hour. Lots of cells to fill, not a lot of reserve capacity for water, and you can't bypass a single failed cell, so a single string only works in 48V, as you can limp along at 42V while a replacement battery or set is on order, but not at 18V. Both L16s and golf carts make good training batteries, and good replacements when it's time to sell the house with fresh batteries. Otherwise industrial cells are the most cost-effective and long-lasting choice among FLAs, especially when replacement labor (and sometimes freight) are factored in. Allan Allan Sindelar On 12/15/2015 11:08 AM, Howie
Michaelson wrote:
|
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org